Chapter 7

Spring was in full bloom, and Zhao Mingzhu arrived early at Cangyun Temple. Her philosophy? Since she was already here, she might as well make the most of it. After kneeling and bowing in the main hall, she headed straight to the divination sticks. A flurry of clattering later, one long stick fell to the ground. She picked it up and read: Great Misfortune. She tossed it aside immediately and shook again. This time, the stick read: Great Fortune.

Zhao Mingzhu nodded in satisfaction. “See? Fate is in my own hands.”

Just then, Qiao’er approached and whispered something in her ear. Zhao Mingzhu stood up, ready for battle. She followed Qiao’er into the peach blossom grove and hid behind a tree trunk, waiting for the fish to bite.

The grove at Cangyun Temple was a cascade of falling petals—a truly picturesque sight. But today, it was eerily empty.

Zhao Mingzhu guessed the other party had cleared the area in advance.—clearly not an ordinary visitor. As she pondered, a figure appeared beneath a tree ahead, glancing around as if searching for something.

Zhao Mingzhu’s eyes widened. Was that a man in women’s clothing?

Without hesitation, she charged forward with a shovel in hand, “You bastard! You dare mess with me? Eat my shovel!”

The figure saw Zhao Mingzhu charging with the shovel and abandoned all pretense of grace, yelling, “Zhao Mingzhu, stop!”

But the shovel was already raised above her head. Eyes squeezed shut, she braced for impact. Damn Zhao Mingzhu—she was her mortal enemy!

Yet the expected pain never came. The shovel stopped just short of her forehead. Zhao Mingzhu tilted her head in surprise.

“Wait… it’s you?” Why was Gu Yu here?

Gu Yu opened her eyes and gritted her teeth.

“Who else would it be? Your secret lover?”

Zhao Mingzhu couldn’t refute that, so she sheepishly lowered the shovel. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I wasn’t trying to hit you.”

Gu Yu gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Well, thank your ancestors for that.”

Zhao Mingzhu glanced around. Her instincts told her no one else was coming. She quickly pulled Gu Yu up. “Really, I thought someone shady was tailing me.”

“Oh, right—why are you even here?” Zhao Mingzhu made a subtle hand gesture behind her: Justice Shovel Squad, retreat!

Gu Yu shoved her aside, smoothed her skirt, and snapped, “Because I was following you, obviously.”

She’d spotted Zhao Mingzhu from afar and, bored, thought she’d come over for a friendly spar. Who would’ve guessed she’d nearly lose her life in the process!

Zhao Mingzhu was speechless. How was she supposed to know Gu Yu had been tailing her? Sure, she’d noticed the feminine attire, but hadn’t thought much of it.

After all, the original host had unique taste. She’d even dared to fall for someone like Gu Qingheng—cold and calculating beneath a gentle exterior. So liking a cross-dressing man wasn’t exactly surprising.

After that near-death shovel incident, both women were still shaken. They temporarily set aside their differences and left the peach blossom grove together.

As they passed the main hall, Gu Yu suddenly let out a soft snort.

Zhao Mingzhu turned, puzzled. “What?”

Gu Yu was remembering how someone had shamelessly discarded a bad fortune stick and immediately drawn another. But realizing that sounded like she’d been secretly watching, she pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Zhao Mingzhu saw she wasn’t going to explain and turned away. Not far off, a young lady spotted her and lit up. “Mingzhu, over here!”

She lifted her skirt and jogged toward Zhao Mingzhu—only to collide head-on with another girl who suddenly darted out. The girl who got hit grimaced and scrambled to her feet, rubbing her arm as she reached Zhao Mingzhu’s side. She complained, “What the heck? Where’d that girl come from?”

Su Lu staggered up, pale-faced when she saw who she’d bumped into.

“Zhao… Crown Princess, I… I didn’t mean to run into you. Please don’t be angry.”

Zhao Mingzhu leaned forward and pointed at herself. “Who are you? Did we say anything to you?”

What was this girl babbling about?

Gu Yu couldn’t stand her cluelessness and helpfully whispered, “She’s Su Lu, daughter of the Minister of Rites. You forgot?”

Su Lu? This was Zhao Mingzhu’s first time seeing the legendary female lead. She gave her a once-over.

Su Lu knelt on the ground, her ivory-white gown making her look like a fairy fallen to earth. Her eyes brimmed with tears, trembling pitifully—truly the embodiment of “so lovely it hurts.”

So that’s what “I see her and my heart aches” looks like.

Still, Zhao Mingzhu didn’t get it. She frowned. “Stand up and speak. No need to call me Crown Princess out here.” People were already starting to stare.

But Su Lu only shrank back further and continued, “Miss Zhao, I really didn’t mean to bump into her. Please believe me.”

Soon, a crowd of worshippers who had finished offering incense began to gather, whispering as they looked at Zhao Mingzhu.

“Wasn’t it just a bump? Why is she making such a fuss?”

“Exactly. Look at that girl—she’s trembling all over.”

Zhao Mingzhu: “…”

Just then, the crowd parted as a man rushed forward to help Su Lu to her feet. He turned sharply and snapped at An Yun, “An Yun, must you always be so relentless?”

That phrase—“relentless even when in the right”—instantly ignited the already furious An Yun. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she retorted, “So you admit we’re in the right? She suddenly ran into me out of nowhere, and now just because she cried a little, we’re the ones at fault?”

Gu Yu leaned toward Zhao Mingzhu and murmured, “She’s one of your troublemaking friends—Any Yn, daughter of the Grand Tutor.”

“And the one defending Su Lu is her fiancé, Bai Mu, son of the Yongwei General.”

Zhao Mingzhu’s mind flashed with plotlines. So she wasn’t the only ‘villainous supporting role’—An Yun was one too. And clearly, villainesses never end well. That included An Yun.

Zhao Mingzhu snapped back to the moment and explained to Bai Mu in a calm, pleasant tone, “We weren’t being relentless. We hadn’t even blamed Su Lu—she just suddenly knelt. If you don’t believe me, ask Gu Yu, who once kindly helped Su Lu.”

She pointed at Gu Yu, who glared at her. Don’t think she didn’t catch the sarcasm.

Gu Yu glanced at Su Lu on the ground. “Zhao Mingzhu’s not lying.”

But Bai Mu didn’t believe a word. He turned to An Yun with a sneer, “If you hadn’t bullied her back at the academy, why would she react like she’s seen the King of Hell?”

Zhao Mingzhu finally understood what blind favoritism looked like.

An Yun couldn’t take it anymore—she stormed over and kicked him hard. “So what if I bullied her? What are you going to do—hit me?”

An Yun was fuming. Today was clearly cursed—she must’ve left the house on an unlucky day. She couldn’t understand what kind of spell Su Lu had cast on Bai Mu to make him defend her so fiercely. Grabbing Zhao Mingzhu, she stormed off, afraid that if she stayed any longer, she’d cough up blood.

Inside the carriage, An Yun’s tears streamed down uncontrollably. She couldn’t even wipe them fast enough before she broke into sobs.

“Bai Mu and I grew up together—over ten years of companionship! Su Lu’s barely been around, and he’s already fallen for her!” She cried so hard she could barely breathe, tears and snot flowing freely. “Why doesn’t he care about me? I got hurt too!”

Zhao Mingzhu sighed and gently patted her back to comfort her. “He’s just asking for a beating. Hang him up and whip him a few times—he’ll come to his senses.”

An Yun sniffled. “Really?”

Zhao Mingzhu nodded. “No.”

An Yun: “I’m trying to be serious here, and you’re messing with me? No more cheat sheets for you during exams.”

Zhao Mingzhu scratched her head, then looked at An Yun’s tear-streaked face and said softly, “It’s because he knows you like him. People who are favored always act with impunity.”

“So stop liking him.”

No one can outshine the heroine’s halo.